Trouble in High Cotton

Hanging out with the fairy queen, also known as my great-niece Jordan.

What would happen if two of my book worlds collided? Well, next week on March 4 you can find out! BONE-A-FIDE TROUBLE goes on sale—#9 in the Familiar Legacy series that features that Sherlockian wise-acre cat, Trouble. In this novel, the landscapes of Sarah Booth and Trouble brush against each other with what I hope is a fun, fun agri-thriller! The books are standalone and need not be read in order.

Trouble is hanging out at the Zinnia boutique hotel, the Prince Albert, with his humanoid, Tammy Lynn, for a booksellers’ gathering when Sarah Booth Delaney’s black cat sidekick, Pluto, contacts Trouble. The two black cats team up to find the missing Trudy Wells. Trudy belongs to Miss Vesta, a sexy little feline minx who happens to be Pluto’s heart throb. And Pluto will do anything to help his lady-love find her pet human.

Trouble and Pluto aren’t the only ones looking for Trudy. When her desperate sister, Tabitha Kingsley, shows up in Zinnia pretending to be a psychic-medium so she can infiltrate the Long family cotton business (where Trudy worked) sparks fly between Tabitha and Roger Long, heir to the family dynasty.

This is a Trouble book with the additional fun of some of the characters from Sarah Booth’s world. There’s a very surprise appearance in the end! I can’t say more or I’ll spoil it. For the Trouble series fans, we have an exciting year coming up. KaliOka Press will publish 4 more titles this year. Jen Talty’s TROUBLE’S WEDDING CAPER was published earlier this month!

For Sarah Booth fans, GAME OF BONES is available for pre-order. Release date is May 14. This is the 20th book in the series (and they need not be read in order either). And here’s a tidbit of good news I haven’t shared anywhere else—St. Martin’s Minotaur has offered another 3-book contract, which I gleefully accepted. Bones, bones, bones. There will be one in 2020 that I am writing now, and two in 2021 (another Christmas book! Yay!). So you can get your Bones fix for the next two years for sure.

We also have some special prices on some of the books in the Trouble series, and if you haven’t tried us at all, we have a special price on A BOXFUL OF TROUBLE, which includes the first five full-priced novels all at once.

Trouble is a character I love writing about—just like his dad, Familiar. I wrote 22 books in this series as Caroline Burnes for Harlequin Intrigue. Because Trouble is a shared character (some of the writers and I got together to give him his winning personality and his penchant for all things Sherlock Holmes) readers get a chance to sample the talents of different writers with the knowledge that Trouble will always be the same. It’s a fun thing for us, as writers, to keep that consistent voice. Trouble is, after all, the star!

Please preorder BONE-A-FIDE TROUBLE and have some fun with our black cat sleuth and a cast of characters I hope will win your heart. And check out the other books—bargains abound, but only for a short time. The books return to full price April 1 (and that ain’t no joke!)

When I was writing this book, I kept thinking about an old country classic. Normally I post blues songs, but change is inevitable, as I learned this weekend getting rid of my swimming pool. Check out this terrific song: When Two Worlds Collide.

I said goodbye to my pool last week. It was drained and filled in with dirt. The dogs are like – where did the pool go? But they will adjust to its absence, as I will also.

When I was 16, I got a job as a DJ at a country music station, WRBE, in Lucedale. I was gut-wrenchingly shy, but we played the Top 40 list of country songs with some oldies thrown in and a few special programs like a gospel hour. I met some great music I might otherwise have missed.

Spring will be here—officially—when we meet again. From the critters and me—Adieu, until the bridal wreath and azaleas abound.

Carolyn and the Critters

P.S. Don’t forget to enter my Freebie-of-the-Month Contest! Up for grabs is a signed paperback edition of BONE APPÉTIT.